Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 16267 

However, the Committee advised USDA 

that most cranberries and cranberry 

products are currently held in the 

inventories of the regulated handlers 

until needed by processors, which 

greatly reduces the likelihood that large 

unreported inventories exist. Therefore, 

the collection of inventory information 

from entities under Part 926 no longer 

benefits the industry. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35), the information collection 

requirements related to this rule were 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0222, Data 

Collection Requirements Applicable to 

Cranberries Not Subject to the Cranberry 

Marketing Order (7 CFR part 926). This 

information collection package expires 

August 31, 2007. We have submitted 

this information collection package 

(currently under OMB review) for 

renewal and requested OMB approval 

for a 1-hour burden placeholder for 

future reimplementation should changes 

occur in the cranberry industry that 

require reinstatement of these reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements under 

Part 926. 

The AMS is committed to complying 

with the E-Government Act, to promote 

the use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

In addition, USDA has not identified 

any relevant Federal rules that 

duplicate, overlap or conflict with this 

rule. 

An interim final rule concerning this 

action was published in the Federal 

Register on December 28, 2006 (7 FR 

78044). Copies of the rule were made 

available through the Internet by the 

Office of the Federal Register and 

USDA. A 30-day comment period 

ending February 26, 2007, was provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to the interim final rule. No comments 

were received. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: http//www.ams.usda.gov/ 

fv/moab/html. Any questions about the 

compliance guide should be sent to Jay 

Guerber at the previously mentioned 

address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, it is found that Part 

926, as suspended in this action, as 

hereinafter set forth, does not tend to 

effectuate the declared policy of the Act 

and that the interim final rule, as 

published in the Federal Register (71 

FR 78044, December 28, 2006), is 

adopted, without change, in this final 

rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 926 

Cranberries and cranberry products, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

PART 926—DATA COLLECTION, 

REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING 

REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO 

CRANBERRIES NOT SUBJECT TO THE 

CRANBERRY MARKETING ORDER 

■ Accordingly, the interim final rule 

suspending 7 CFR part 926 which was 

published at 71 FR 78044 on December 

28, 2006, is adopted as a final rule 

without change. 

Dated: March 29, 2007. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6241 Filed 4–3–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1207 

[Docket No. AMS–FV–06–0177; FV–06–703–

FIR] 

Potato Research and Promotion Plan; 

Amendment of Administrative 

Committee Structure 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

final rule amending the structure of the 

Administrative Committee (Committee) 

of the National Potato Promotion Board 

(Board) as prescribed in the Potato 

Research and Promotion Plan. This rule 

continues in effect the action that 

increased the number of ViceChairperson positions on the Committee 

from six to seven. The change is 

intended to more closely correlate the 

Committee’s representation with potato 

production in the Northwest district—a 

five state region which accounts for 

more than half of all U.S. potato 

production. 

DATES: Effective Date: May 4, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Barry Broadbent, Marketing Specialist, 

or Gary Olson, Regional Manager, 

Northwest Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1220 SW., Third Avenue, 

Suite 385, Portland, OR 97204; 

Telephone: (503) 326–2724, Fax: (503) 

326–7440, or e-mail: 

Barry.Broadbent@usda.gov or 

GaryD.Olson@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720–

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or e-mail: 

Jay.Guerber@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under the Potato Research and 

Promotion Plan [7 CFR Part 1207], 

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Plan.’’

The Plan is authorized by the Potato 

Research and Promotion Act, as 

amended [7 U.S.C. 2611–2627], 

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Act.’’

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has waived the review process 

required by Executive Order 12866 for 

this action. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. This rule is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. This rule will 

not preempt any State or local laws, 

regulations, or policies, unless they 

present an irreconcilable conflict with 

this rule. 

The Act provides that administrative 

proceedings must be exhausted before 

parties may file suit in court. Under 

section 311 of the Act, a person subject 

to a plan may file a petition with the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

stating that such plan, any provision of 

such plan, or any obligation imposed in 

connection with such plan is not in 

accordance with law and request a 

modification of such plan or to be 

exempted therefrom. Such person is 

afforded the opportunity for a hearing 

on the petition. After the hearing, USDA 

would rule on the petition. The Act 

provides that the district court of the 

United States in any district in which 

such person is an inhabitant, or has his 

or her principal place of business, has 

jurisdiction to review USDA’s ruling on 

the petition, provided that a complaint 

is filed not later than 20 days after date 

of the entry of the ruling. 

This rule adopts the interim rule that 

modified the structure of the Board’s 

Administrative Committee as prescribed 

in the Plan by increasing the number of 

Vice-Chairperson positions on the 

Committee from six to seven. This 

additional position is allocated, as 

provided in the Board’s bylaws, to the 

Northwest district. This rule increased 


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16268 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

from 25 percent to 33 percent Board 

representation at the executive level for 

potato producers in Montana, Idaho, 

Oregon, Washington, and Alaska is. The 

change was recommended by a large 

majority of the Board, with only 3 of 84 

members dissenting at the Board’s 

meeting on March 18, 2006. 

Section 1207.327(b) of the Plan 

provides the authority to make rules and 

regulations, with USDA approval, to 

effectuate the terms and conditions of 

the Plan. Section 1207.328(a) of the Plan 

provides the authority to select from its 

members such officers as may be 

necessary and to adopt such rules for 

the conduct of its business as the Board 

may deem advisable. 

Section 1207.507(a) of the Plan’s 

administrative rules delineates the 

structure of Board’s Administrative 

Committee. The Committee is selected 

from among Board members and must 

be composed of producer members, one 

or more importer member(s), and the 

public member. The Board, through the 

adoption of their bylaws, may prescribe 

the manner of selection and the number 

of members; except that the regulations 

mandate that the Committee shall 

include a Chairperson and a fixed 

number of Vice-Chairpersons. The 

bylaws also designate the officers and 

the immediate past Chairperson as the 

Board’s Executive Committee. 

Prior to this modification, the Plan 

provided for six Vice-Chairperson 

positions on the Committee. ViceChairperson positions are allocated in 

the Board’s bylaws to represent 

production districts as determined by 

the Board. This rule adopts the interim 

rule that increased the number of ViceChairperson positions to seven. The 

additional Vice-Chairperson position is 

allocated to the Northwest district, 

which historically has been the district 

with the greatest production. 

At its meeting on March 18, 2006, the 

Board discussed the structure of its 

model of governance as it relates to 

adequate representation of their 

constituents. The Board had been 

studying this issue for a number of 

years. Representatives from the potato 

producing districts that have 

experienced increases over the last 30 

years expressed a desire for greater 

Board representation. 

The Northwest district, which 

includes the States of Montana, Idaho, 

Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, has 

increased production such that the 

district now accounts for 49.5 percent of 

all potatoes produced by or imported 

into the U.S. Under the current Plan, the 

Northwest district accounts for 47.4 

percent of the votes of the full Board, 

which the Board has determined to be 

equitable. In contrast, membership on 

the Executive Committee, the governing 

body of the Administrative Committee, 

is not representative of current 

production. The Northwest district has 

held only two of the eight executive 

positions, which represents only 25 

percent of the Executive Committee 

vote, while production in the district 

has increased to nearly 50 percent. 

The members agreed to a compromise 

solution to increase the number of 

officer positions on the Administrative 

Committee by one and, through a 

change in the Board’s bylaws, to allocate 

the additional Vice-Chairperson 

position to the Northwest district. 

Eighty-one Board members voted in 

favor of the proposal and three members 

were opposed. Those in opposition 

represented the Northeast district and 

were concerned, even after the 

compromise proposal, that too much 

influence on the Board would shift to 

the West. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

and Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA)[5 U.S.C. 601 et 

seq.], the Agricultural Marketing Service 

has examined the impact of this rule on 

small entities. The purpose of the RFA 

is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of 

businesses subject to such action so that 

small businesses will not be 

disproportionately burdened. 

There are approximately 1,353 

handlers, 5,223 producers, and 300 

importers of potatoes and potato 

products who are subject to the 

provisions of the Plan. The Small 

Business Administration (SBA) defines 

small agricultural service firms, which 

includes handlers and importers, as 

those having annual receipts of less than 

$6,500,000, and small agricultural 

producers are defined as those having 

annual receipts of less than $750,000. 

Most of the producers and handlers, and 

some of the importers would be 

classified as small businesses under the 

criteria established by the SBA (13 CFR 

121.201). In addition, producers of less 

than 5 acres of potatoes are exempt from 

this program. 

This rule adopts the interim rule that 

modified the structure of the 

Administrative Committee of the Board, 

as delineated under § 1207.507 of the 

Plan, by increasing the number of ViceChairperson positions from six to seven. 

The Plan requires that the Committee be 

comprised of producer Board members, 

one or more importer Board member(s), 

and the public Board member. The exact 

number of members seated on the 

Committee is determined by the Board 

through the Board’s bylaws. 

Additionally, the Plan regulations 

require that the Board elect a Committee 

Chairperson and a fixed number of ViceChairpersons. 

The Board, through their bylaws, 

allocates the Committee’s officer 

positions according to production 

districts, so as to provide equitable 

representation at the executive level. 

The Northwest district, which has 

historically represented a large 

percentage of total potato production, 

has in the past been allocated two 

officer positions, while the other five 

districts have each been allocated one. 

Currently, producers within the 

Northwest district collectively produce 

over 50 percent of the total U.S. potato 

production. The additional ViceChairperson position created by this 

rule is allocated by the Board’s revised 

bylaws to the Northwest district, 

thereby increasing representation for 

that district at the executive level from 

25 percent to 33 percent. The authority 

for this action is provided in 

§§ 1207.327 and 1207.328 of the Plan. 

At their March 18, 2006, meeting, the 

Board discussed the factors leading up 

to this action and the potential impact 

on the industry after the change. 

However, there is no direct financial 

impact to producers, handlers, or 

importers as a result of this action. 

The Board discussed alternatives to 

this change, including reducing the 

number of districts, defining Committee 

representation as a ratio relative to 

Board members from each district, and 

reducing the size of the Board to the size 

of the existing Administrative 

Committee. None of the proposals 

garnered much support and were 

ultimately dropped from consideration 

because the changes were deemed to be 

too divisive to the industry. 

The AMS is committed to complying 

with the E-Government Act, to promote 

the use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

This rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

potato handlers or importers. As with 

all Federal research and promotion 

programs, reports and forms are 

periodically reviewed to reduce 

information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. In addition, USDA has 

not identified any relevant Federal rules 

that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 

this rule. 

Further, the Board’s meetings were 

widely publicized throughout the potato 

industry and all interested persons were 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 64 / Wednesday, April 4, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 16269 

invited to attend the meetings and 

participate in Board deliberations. Like 

all Board meetings, the March 18, 2006, 

meeting was a public meeting and all 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express their views on this issue. 

Finally, interested persons were invited 

to submit information on the regulatory 

and informational impacts of this action 

on small businesses. 

An interim final rule concerning this 

action was published in the Federal 

Register on December 22, 2006. Copies 

of the rule were mailed by the Board’s 

staff to all Board members and potato 

handlers. In addition, the rule was made 

available through the Internet by USDA 

and the Office of the Federal Register. 

The interim final rule provided for a 60- 

day comment period which ended 

February 20, 2007. Two comments were 

received, both of which were in support 

of the change. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at the following Web site: 

http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/moab.html. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Jay Guerber at 

the previously mentioned address in the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Board’s recommendation, and other 

information, the interim final rule as 

published in the Federal Register (71 

FR 76899, December 22, 2006), is 

adopted, as a final rule, without change. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1207 

Advertising, Agricultural research, 

Imports, Potatoes, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

PART 1207—POTATO RESEARCH 

AND PROMOTION PLAN 

■ Accordingly, the interim final rule 

amending 7 CFR part 1207 which was 

published at 71 FR 76899 on December 

22, 2006, is adopted as a final rule 

without change. 

Dated: March 29, 2007. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6274 Filed 4–3–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

17 CFR Parts 140 and 145 

Corrections to Regional Office 

Information 

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures 

Trading Commission (‘‘Commission’’) is 

amending its regulations to delete 

references to the Minneapolis office, 

which was closed as of December 31, 

2006, and to update the address of the 

Southwestern regional office. 

DATES: Effective April 4, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stacy Yochum, Deputy Executive 

Director, at (202) 418–5157, Office of the 

Executive Director, Commodity Futures 

Trading Commission, Three Lafayette 

Centre, 1155 21st St., NW., Washington 

DC 20581; e-mail syochum@cftc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Commission Rule 140.2 describes the 

organization and location of the 

Commission’s regional offices in New 

York, Chicago, and Kansas City (the 

Eastern, Central, and Southwestern 

regional offices). As of December 31, 

2006, the Commission closed the 

Minneapolis sub-office of the 

Southwestern regional office. In 

addition, the Kansas City office moved 

to a new location in September 2004. 

The Commission is therefore amending 

Rule 140.2 to delete the reference to the 

Minneapolis office and to reflect the 

new address of the Southwestern 

regional office. There is no change to the 

states covered by the Southwestern 

region. The Commission is also 

replacing the term ‘‘regional director’’

with ‘‘regional coordinator’’ to reflect 

the term used by the Commission to 

describe the head of each regional 

office. 

In addition, the Commission is 

amending the list of addresses provided 

in Rule 145.6, which instructs members 

of the public on where to direct requests 

for public records, to remove the 

reference to the Minneapolis office and 

to update the Kansas City address. 

List of Subjects 

17 CFR Part 140 

Authority delegations (Government 

agencies), Organization and functions 

(Government agencies). 

17 CFR Part 145 

Confidential business information, 

Freedom of Information. 

■ Accordingly, 17 CFR parts 140 and 

145 are amended as follows: 

PART 140—ORGANIZATION, 

FUNCTIONS, AND PROCEDURES OF 

THE COMMISSION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 140 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2 and 12a. 

■ 2. Section 140.2 is amended by 

revising the section heading, the 

introductory text, and paragraph (c) to 

read as follows: 

§ 140.2 Regional Office-Regional 

Coordinators. 

Each of the Regional offices described 

herein functions as set forth in this 

section under the direction of a Regional 

Coordinator who, as a collateral duty, 

oversees the administration of the office 

and represents the Commission in 

negotiations with employee union 

officials and in interactions with 

external parties. Each regional office has 

delegated authority for the enforcement 

of the Act and administration of the 

programs of the Commission in the 

particular regions. 

* * * * * 

(c) The Southwestern Regional Office 

is located at Two Emanuel Cleaver II 

Blvd., Suite 300, Kansas City, Missouri 

64112, and is responsible for 

enforcement of the Act and 

administration of the programs of the 

Commission in the States of Alaska, 

Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, 

Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, 

Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, 

Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North 

Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South 

Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and 

Wyoming. 

PART 145—COMMISSION RECORDS 

AND INFORMATION 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 145 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Pub. L. 99–570, 100 Stat. 3207; 

Pub. L. 89–554, 80 Stat. 54; Pub. L. 98–502, 

88 Stat. 1561–1564 (5 U.S.C. 552); Sec. 

101(a), Pub. L. 93–463, 88 Stat. 1389 (5 

U.S.C. 4a(j)); unless otherwise noted. 

■ 4. Section 145.6 is amended by 

revising paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 145.6 Commission office to contact for 

assistance; registration records available. 

(a) Whenever this part directs that a 

request be directed to the Assistant 

Secretary of the Commission for FOI, 

Privacy and Sunshine Acts Compliance, 

the request shall be made in writing and 

shall be addressed or otherwise directed 

to the Office of the Secretariat, 

Commodity Futures Trading 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC61 with RULES